Stream: Kehlani – ‘SweetSexySavage’

The wait is over. Following several teasers and singles, Kehlani’s debut SweetSexySavage has arrived.

Packed with 18 tracks, the album blends and bends genres in what the Tsunami Mob leader calls a “multi-layered” project meant to challenge and empower.

Prior to releasing the album, the Bay Area songstress spoke with Rolling Stone about her approach and how it differs from her previous mixtapes.

“[Cloud 19] was like, ‘Let me show I can sing!’ and [You Should Be Here] was, ‘Let me show I can write!’ This one’s like, ‘Let me show I can chill! And have fun!’ Really, I was just taking it easy.”

Part of taking it easy means making “happy” music, and that inclination certainly influenced this effort, which was recorded in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

“I don’t know why people think pop music is so bad,” she said. “We’ve definitely gone into some shitty shit, and we’ve seen some corny shit. But that doesn’t mean pop music is corny. Nelly Furtado’s ‘Like a Bird’ and Natasha Bedindfield’s ‘Unwritten’ are both pop, and they just make you happy. I like shit that makes me happy.”